Founded in 1921 as the Merchant Seamen’s Branch, this operation was
dedicated to providing services to the sailors and crews of the U.S. Merchant
Marine. In 1931, a large building was constructed at 550 West 20th Street, and
the Seamen’s House clientele became more international. By the 1950s, Seamen’s
House had weathered World War II and an influx of Coast Guard sailors, and had
merged the operations of the Seamen’s House with those of the American Seamen’s
Friend Society and the Seamen’s Christian Association. All the services, such
as the pool, movie screenings, and books from library, were free. The YMCA
charged only for rooms and meals.

By the mid-1960s, a decline in merchant shipping and other social
factors combined to reduce the need for special services for seamen. At the
same time, the state of New York began inquiries about the 1931 building and
its adjacent laundry. The financial situation of Seamen’s House, coupled with
the apparent decline in the need for its special mission, encouraged the Board
of Directors to sell the property, realizing $2 million from the state in
February of 1967. Seamen’s House moved to West 34th Street, adjacent to the
Sloane House YMCA branch

After the move a number of alternatives to providing services to
seamen were explored, including merging with the British Merchant Navy Club,
and offering non-residential services through the new Port of New York terminal
building. By 1970, the possibility of moving to the McBurney branch, located at
215 West 23rd Street, was introduced. The branch began serving seamen out of a
“mobile unit”, which visited ships in port. By 1972 Seamen’s House, now
officially referred to as the International Seamen’s Center, had relocated its
offices and some programming to the McBurney YMCA, with a increasing emphasis
on mobile services and ship visits. In 1974, merger talks began in earnest, and
the Seamen’s House YMCA was formally absorbed into the McBurney YMCA.

The Brooklyn Association also operated a branch for sailors that
opened in 1918 in a converted church in the Red Hook section and moved next
door into a new building in 1927. The new building was constructed with funds
donated in 1919 by Mrs. James Harvey Williams as a memorial to her husband.
Known as the Bethelship Seamen's Branch, it closed and was sold in 1948 because
of changing demographics and shipping industry economics. A vestige of the
mission to provide services to the men and boys of the sea remains in the
Prospect Park branch’s Seafarer’s Safe House, a twelve-unit affordable
residential program in Brooklyn for retired sailors.

(Information taken from The YMCA at 150: A
History of the YMCA of Greater New York, 1852-2002 by Pamela Bayless,
2002; and from An Event on Mercer Street, by Terry Donoghue, 1951;
and from History of the Brooklyn and Queens Young Men's
Christian Association, 1853-1949 by E. Clark Worman, 1952; and the YMCA
Seamen's House records.)

The collection contains primarily black and white photographs of
interiors and exteriors scenes of the buildings occupied by the Bethelship
Seamen's Branch in Brooklyn and the Seamen's House YMCA in Manhattan.

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright,
ownership, and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the
reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series
here].Seamen's House YMCA Photographs. YMCA of Greater New York. Kautz
Family YMCA Archives. University of Minnesota.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings.

E-mail questions or comments to: ymcaarch@umn.eduURL:
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/ymca/ygny0011x1.phtml |Last revised:
August 26, 2008
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